Aoyama — Restaurant in Toronto

During the weekend, Aoyama offers a “sushi set upgraded weekend special” ($125) that comes with a more sushi and luxurious appetizers, compared to their regular option. To begin, there’s a sharing platter of small eats containing chawanmushi (a savoury egg custard), lobster tempura, yakitori skewers, other small nibbles, and a pot of seafood consommé. l Normally, chawanmushi is served hot. At Aoyama, it’s cold so ends up being denser and almost the consistency of a savoury flan. The temperature and jellied soup takes some getting used to, but it tasted good, the dashi (?) flavours seeping through. Finishing it with a teacup of the umami-filled seafood consommé is a nice combination.

Plump pieces of lobster tempura is dressed with the all-colour-no-heat spicy mayo. Nonetheless, the lobster was cooked nicely, it just needed a bit of salt or something else to dip it into. Surrounding the dish were pods of dry edamame and tempura burdock root that was cold but tasty to nibble on.

What makes yakitori skewers delicious is when they’re hot off the grill and you can smell and taste the smoky caramelized glaze. In the platter, the chicken and scallion yakitori were cold (having been brought over from the other store) so the chicken became hard and the sauce congealed and lumpy. Really, Aoyama should consider replacing these with a starter that doesn’t need to be hot.

Something to consider when you make a reservation: what is important about the meal for you? Is it hot food or a comfortable sitting environment? While the VIP room is spacious and has an ambiance of a brightly lit piano lounge, there isn’t a kitchen so food is transported over in a non-insulated metal container arriving lukewarm to cold. To get the best of both worlds, you’ll want to order cold items when sitting in the VIP area.

Luckily, the huge plate of sushi that’s part of the set menu can withstand the frigid journey. That evening, it contained two types of tuna, the fattier toro and the regular blue fin variety; sweet soft pieces of unagi (barbequed eel); surprisingly clean pieces of aji (horse mackerel) that’s further topped with tons of ginger and green onions; tried and true kampachi, salmon, and salmon maki; a decent take on tamago (egg) that had the flavours but not the lovely layers; as well as generous portions of hotate (Hokkaido scallop), ebi (raw shrimp), and uni...

In an area littered with food options, Aoyama Sushi is probably one of the most authentic you can find in the area. Yes, for certain items the price is a bit more than average, but not by enough that it should deter anyone. I can't give them 5 stars only because I'm a tough critic and there was nothing I had that was exceptional, so 4 stars in my books is very good.

My wife and I stopped by for a late dinner (at 9pm) on a Tuesday night and the place was busy enough that they couldn't seat us right away. It's a small place, probably seats about 30-40 people? I'd recommend calling in advance, just in case. The service was also pretty good, so no complaints here.

If you've been to Japan, you'll know, this place feels more Japanese, especially when you go downstairs to the washroom area which is cutely decorated with Hello Kitty.

I can't benchmark food quality against the staple items we'd usually get to see how good the sashimi selection was because we tried the cold soba and cold udon, assorted tempura, fried scallops, beef tataki, a few other side dishes and a dragon roll. Yes, we love our food.

The soba was as expected, they gave a good amount of wasabi, and the portion size was standard. The tempura was quite good - they use decent sized shrimps, fatter than your typical sushi buffet (AYCE) - the batter was light, not over fried, greasy/oily or anything like that. The fried scallops were ok - cooked well, but the seasoning/flavouring seemed a bit average. Maybe with a butter sauce or something it might've stood out a bit more... or had they been grilled? The beef tataki was good - meat quality was good, but could've used a bit extra side condiments that typically come with it. The dragon roll was tasty, good rice quality/texture, and the other ingredients used seemed good too.

We'd definitely go back to try a few other dishes there. We would've gone for the omakase, but looking at some of the pictures/options, neither of us are fond of uni (sea urchin), which tends to be a premium item that is...

I started liking this place hence I was going to go twice or three times a week, however tonight's experience changed it all... the service I received was extremely unprofessional.

1. The waiter (who had visible tattoos - just for identification purposes) never bothered bringing tea. I asked at least two/three times, which is still ok because it is no biggie to me.

2. When I asked him if there was fish missing from the sashimi set, he said "did you already eat it?" Really? The first thing you ask is did I already eat it? you just put it down less than a minute ago... after politely saying no, he unhappily went to the chef with the sashimi set and the chef seems like he knew something was wrong so he added it back the missing fish. It is about the attitude and how he handled the situation not so much about the 3 PC of fish because we all make mistakes. I admit I did wanted the squid

3. when I finished paying, he complained about how the tip was too little.. I did pay 10% but definitely not more so he said I can't leave and had to get the manager. I complied because I want to know what they will say even though they have NO RIGHT to not let me leave. I PAID FOR MY MEAL in FULL. Here's the best part.. The manager said "paying very little tip will not motivate my staff to do better and will affect the service" I said straight up, "I'm sorry that is NOT MY PROBLEM... you have to manage your staff's service" I'm a customer and tip is a payment for service. It is NOT mandatory. I do NOT believe I receive decent service... If I knew he would even have the guts to come tell me that I would have NOT PAID TIPS.

You be the judge... as for the other comments on this page - yes, I can tell you the fishes are fresh and yes, it is pricey. However this is the service I received from both the waiter and the manager.

Carefully look at the date of the receipts - this will probably be my last visit in a...